The Horizon Of Hopes
by EgoRaptor
Summary: Five years after everything, Thalia Grace has finally cracked. The world could go fuck itself, she was going to do what she wanted. What her heart cried for. WHO it cried for. One ticket to the Underworld, please. First story :/ Please review.


My first upload.

Thalia was tired.

Not of that day. Admittedly, fighting an army of drakon was nothing compared to what she had been through before. Besides, her entire crew was with her, and there had been no chance of the enemy surviving the fight.

It was just that, all these years, running from monsters, then slaying them, and now _hunting _them, nobody really stopped to think what Thalia had been through, not even herself. She had spent most of her initial life in constant fear of death and loss, then spent two years as a tree, and now she was in her third year of eternal maidenhood as Artemis' lieutenant.

Yes, Thalia was very definitely tired.

It was more than she could handle. The drakon army was just the trigger, something to open the floodgates and let all the sorrow, fatigue, and numbing hatred come rushing in. _Fuck Artemis, _she thought, _fuck the Hunters, fuck dad, fuck everybody. _She stood at the edge of the River Styx, the gates of the Underworld in front of her, but she couldn't remember getting there. The first step across the gates was the hardest. Thalia felt so conflicted, it was like a physical entity pulling her back and shoving her forward at the same time. She knew she shouldn't do this, and what she had in mind could have disastrous results.

Then the flashes came back. The night she got turned into a tree, fighting in the Titan War, Percy's abduction, and the House of Hades with its giants. Thalia lifted her chin and stepped forward, dodging Cerberus without a second thought, and for once she was fully convinced that after all they had done to her, Thalia didn't owe anyone a single fucking thing.

The rest of the way was a blur. Thalia had to make sure not to linger too much in the Fields of Asphodel, or else she be lured into staying there forever. She reached the cave with the Tartarus hole, looked around the jagged walls, climbed the one farthest from the hole, and sat on a small ledge, her legs dangling from it. She looked at Tartarus, and its monsters whispering curses to her. Her demigod sixth sense was screeching for her to get back, get down, and get away, but Thalia ignored it. She closed her eyes, leaned her head back against the cave wall, and sighed.

"Rebirth my ass, Castellan", she growled, "I know you didn't go anywhere. I know it."

She waited, too long, it seemed, but she did. She kept her eyes closed, and listened to the sound of her own breathing. Soon, she felt the ominous knot in her stomach ease. The whispers went away, the stench of death and ichor ceased, and her demigod sixth sense relaxed.

There was someone beside her, she could feel the body heat. After so long, it had come to this moment, and Thalia couldn't bear to open her eyes and watch her heart shatter again. But she had to, this is why she was here. If not today, then she would come later, again and again until she finally opened her eyes.

The incredulousness of the prospect made her eyes snap open.

She was still sitting on a ledge, her legs still dangling in the air, but it didn't overlook Tartarus. Instead, she sat looking at the entire Underworld, the Fields of Asphodel on her right, and the blinding bright Isles of the Blest on her left. Beside her sat Luke, in his camp shirt and jeans, looking just like he used to, looking at her with such a scorching gaze, that Thalia had no choice but to look away.

It was a bad call, she looked away towards Elysium, and wondered what place could actually have a view like this. One look below her and she knew.

"Oh my gods!" she cried, pulling her legs up to the legs and clutching the wall, "Luke, you son of a bitch! We're hanging from Hades' palace!"

Luke had the audacity to laugh. Throwing an arm out in front of her, he shrugged, "Did you prefer that godforsaken hole?"

"YES!" Thalia yelled, "This is too. Fucking. HIGH!"

"Ssshhh!" Luke cried, his voice dropping to a whisper, "Ugh, we're not really supposed to be here, so it'd be better if you don't yell- no, let me finish", he said, cutting of her retort, "I brought you here because the hole is too dangerous for me. Kronos still holds that grudge, the whole killing myself to kill him thing. But don't worry, I won't let you fall."

Thalia looked at Luke, his scarred grin, his blue eyes, the light off the Isles making his golden hair glow. His face, the smile he wore, calmed her down. In a few minutes, her breathing had slowed down to normal, and Luke, noticing her relaxation, withdrew the arm he had previously extended to act as a fence between her and the hundred foot plunge to death.

They sat back, their backs against the wall, heads turned towards each other, and stared. Thalia watched Luke run his eyes over her, just as she did to him, both remembering each other, reacquainting themselves, committing everything to memory. Thalia and Luke had learned to build a wall between their emotions and the rest of the world when they were kids. No one could break though the barrier, it was as strong as the bond they had shared before she got turned into a tree. But in front of the other, alone like this, neither of stood a chance. Both their eyes were equally transparent, saying everything that had never been said before.

It's hard to explain, what Thalia saw in Luke's eyes. There was so much sorrow, so much pain, and yet, so much _love, _that she understood why he kept quiet. No one could possibly turn all of that into coherent words.

Still, Luke was the one to talk first. "Thaliaaa..." he whispered, his voice sending shocks through Thalia's body, "How long has it been?"

She gulped, still jarred by how caressingly Luke had said her name. "Five years", she said, "Why, they don't have calendars in Elysium?"

Luke smiled slightly, the crooked smile that Thalia remembered. "No", he said, "Nobody feels time pass here, actually. It could've been yesterday, it could've been a decade, and I wouldn't know. Well, I'd know if it were yesterday, though. But I feel like it's been too long."

_It has been too long, Luke_. Thalia thought, and then said it out loud, because this was Luke, and she couldn't afford to hide anything now. She didn't _want_ to.

Luke nodded. "Immortality suits you", he said, "Not that I have aged. We're both stuck in time."

"Me more than you", Thalia replied, "You're here, so far away that you can't even feel time pass by. And I'm up there, and everything around me is moving forward, and I'm helpless, forced to watch as the time bomb ticks, closer to everyone's death. My brother, Grover", she looked up at him, "Percy and Annabeth. I'm gonna be like this, sixteen, as their children and their children's children live and die. In the end, I'm all that's gonna be left of us. Unless someone kills me, that is."

Her heart flipped at the sad smile that Luke gave. "How old are they?" he asked.

"Twenty, They're both adults now. Percy's gonna propose soon."

"Jesus."

"I know."

A pause.

"So you found your brother."

"Jason", Thalia replied, nodding, "He was one of the-"

"One of the seven demigods of the Giant War, yes", Luke said, nodding back, "I might not know the date, but they keep us pretty updated here. I heard about all of it", he lifted a hand and flicked Thalia's nose, "I heard what you did. That's my girl."

Thalia didn't smile. It felt more than good, the familiarity, the affection, the sheer _pride _in his voice. But that's not all that Thalia had come for. She caught his hand in hers, and squeezed it, her eyes boring into his. "The worst part is", she said, blinking back tears, "If it had been you who stayed back that night, and you who got turned into a tree, I would've done the exact same thing you did."

Luke sucked in a breath and snatched his hand free. "No", he said firmly, turning his entire body to hers, "No, no, Thalia, no", he said, cupping Thalia's face in both hands, "You wouldn't have. You would never have done what I did. For starters, you're not a complete fucking idiot."

Thalia sighed and closed her eyes, as Luke touched her forehead with his. "That time that you asked me to join you…"

"I was brainwashed. I was stupid. Thalia, I didn't know what I was talking about."

"You made a very compelling case. Getting revenge on our dads, getting the family back together."

"No, it wasn't, I..." Luke slumped, his hands dropping to Thalia's shoulders, "You don't know how thankful I am that you listened to Percy."

"Luke", she said, her voice firm and strong, reaching up to stroke his scar, "You kidnapped Annabeth to ask her to do the same thing. You said your life depended on it."

They opened their eyes right into each other. Thalia wasn't sure she could handle the amount of pain in Luke's eyes without exploding. "Annabeth", he whispered, "She didn't get hurt either. Do you realize how grateful I am to Percy Jackson? Both of you are alive. He didn't let either of you come with me and die like me. There's nothing else I want but your safety."

Unreasonable anger flared within Thalia. She drew back from Luke. "Really, Luke?" she snapped, "Nothing? There's _nothing _else you want?"

Death must've instilled relentless courage in him, because instead of recoiling from Thalia's furious glare and fearing the electricity running through her right then, Luke shifted forward, wound one arm around Thalia, and jerked her towards him. He winced from the electric shock, but only held on tighter, his other hand settling around her neck, his face in her hair. Every last trace of Thalia's anger drained out when she shocked him and he winced again, and she gasped, threw her arms around him, and buried her face in his chest. Both of them held each other with all the strength they had, listening to their muffled breaths, feeling each other's hearts racing. In that moment, Thalia knew she would never regret coming here. Even if Hades himself finds them sneaking around and vaporizes them on the spot, Thalia would never consider this decision a bad one.

"Thalia Grace", Luke murmured in her ear, "How did you know I'd be here?"

Their hands were changing positions now. Luke's secured Thalia to himself, gripping his waist, while Thalia's ran along Luke's body, feeling his biceps, his chests, counting his ribs, and coming up to trace his neck. "I knew", she said, in a subdued voice, "Because you never wanted it. You never wanted heaven. All you ever talked about was somehow finding a niche that kept you in the action, no matter what it cost. Annabeth cried so much over it, you'd eventually lie to her and tell her you were kidding", Luke leaned into her as she held his face closer to hers, their noses touching, their breaths mingling, the lips barely not touching, "Don't think I forgot who you were before you became Kronos, Luke", she whispered, tilting her face up as he pulled her closer, "Don't think what you did changes who you are. You're evil, but you're still my Luke."

Of course they hesitated. It was only for a moment, but they did. After ten years of being family, and then being enemies, it was ridiculous to think something like this could _still _happen. But it did. Thalia looked up to Luke with apprehension, and Luke lost it.

He dipped her into a long kiss, their lips doing the talking. It was strong, as strong as both of them, but also gentle. Thalia couldn't help the tears that spilled out, streaking both their faces as she drank him in. Her legs were on both side of Luke's torso now, holding her to him as much as his arms did. His lips were soft and more than compliant, opening up to let her tongue trace the edge of Luke's mouth, making him moan and deepen the kiss, clutching to Thalia with rejuvenated strength.

They kissed and kissed and kissed, until it was necessary to come up for air, and then they sat there, their breathing ragged, holding each other, neither of them able to process what just happened. Thalia was sobbing quietly, for first time in front of Luke, she recalled, and Luke wiped her tears with his fingers and kissed her forehead. "I thought..." he started, his voice raw, "I...I couldn't let myself consider, I couldn't allow myself to _hope_..."

Thalia hugged him and nuzzled his neck. "I hate you, for what you did", she said, "So does everyone at camp. I've seen them, seen the memories they have of you. They felt so betrayed, everyone, not just Annabeth and Percy. You were their leader. You were supposed to _help_ them cope with what was waiting for them. And yet", she looked up to him, his eyes glistening with tears like hers, "and yet everyday they wish for you to come back. They know, just like I do, that you really _are_ who you used to be, no who you went on to become. They know you were a good person, and given a second chance, you still will be. It might be too late for them, Luke, since it wasn't just you they lost in the war. But me? How can I ever hold anything against you? You saved me, you saved my soul. You were my life, so much so that I put my entire world at risk for a chance to come see you. As angry as I was then – and mind you, I was _really _angry – there was never anything to forgive. Not for me."

Luke's tears spilled on Thalia's hair, and she rose up to kiss him. "I love you", they both said at the same time, their lips still touching, and then laughed. "Not many girls can say their first kiss was with a dead guy in the Lord of the Underworld's palace", Luke said, setting them both against the wall, while Thalia went back to nuzzling his neck, "Very scandalous, and an interesting story for your future boyfriends."

Thalia could barely hear the strain in his voice over the blood rushing in her ears. "What boyfriends, you dumbass", she said, deadpanning, "sworn to eternal maidenhood, remember?"

It was like a brick falling on his head. He jerked up straight, and pulled Thalia away from him. "Oh gods, I forgot about that", he said, "Won't you get in trouble for this?"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "I don't wear an ankle bracelet that sounds an alarm if I kiss a guy, Luke. It'll be fine. Besides, Artemis knows I'm faithful to my oath, which is technically only broken when and if you get married or get knocked up by someone. You're my first and last infraction."

Luke grinned, the expression not quite reaching his eyes, and stroked Thalia's hair. "For the first and last time?"

Thalia's stomach dropped to the floor. _Of course, now we need to say goodbye_. "Luke", she started, and Luke put a finger on her lips.

"About the hypothetical job that hypothetically kept me in action, I may have had an…offer", he said, nervously.

Thalia caught his hand in hers again and pulled him closer to study his face. "What kind of hypothetical job?" I asked.

Luke bit his lip. "The kind of job that hypothetically makes me the captain of Davy Jones' immortal crew", he said, and explained without Thalia's question, "It's a ship crew, aboard the Flying Dutchman, whose captain ferries souls lost at sea back to the Underworld. Kinda like what Charon does, but it's at sea, and I – if I hypothetically take this job – I'll be alive again, in theory, but I can't set foot on land, except for one day every ten years."

He stopped, waiting for Thalia to respond, and took her some time to. "Davy Jones' ship?" she asked.

"Yes."

"The one from the stories. The ship that goes underwater and all that shit."

"The very same."

"And the captain's job is vacant?"

Luke hesitated. "Eh, well, the rule is that only stabbing the captain's heart can kill him. As you would know from the stories, the captain's heart is cut out and kept inside a treasure chest." Thalia winced, and Luke smiled.

"Whoever stabs the heart, his own must take its place", Thalia said.

Luke nodded, pursing his lips.

"Well", she said, "So you got a hypothetical offer to...to _kill_ the current captain and replace him?"

Luke nodded again. "He's...he's not doing his job. It's a Titan, hell bent on giving Poseidon a hard time."

"Poseidon made the hypothetic job offer?"

"Neptune, actually", Luke replied, "The Roman version."

Thalia paused, the lack of any emotion on Luke's face shocking her into silence. "Say something", Luke said.

"You…" she replied, "Are you considering taking Neptune up on his hypothetical offer?"

"Thalia", Luke said, "If I were to do it – hypothetically – I'd live forever. I'm a warrior, I can beat most people in a swordfight. It's going to be pretty tough getting to my heart. Especially", he said, looking at Thalia nervously again, "if I were to keep it where I plan to."

Thalia caught it before she had fully internalized the news of what Luke was gonna do. "With me", she said, "You were gonna ask me to keep it?"

Luke leaned forward and kissed her lightly. "My heart is already with you", he said, "The beating thing pumping the blood in my body might as well be."

"Luke!" Thalia cried.

"Ten years at sea, one day on the shore, Thalia. It's a much better offer than anything I would've imagined."

Thalia gaped at him, as he blushed in the light of the Isles and looked down. "That is, of course, if you were willing to infract your contract once every ten years", he looked up and grinned, "I promise not to knock you up."

Not being able to decide whether to punch him or kiss him, Thalia threw herself at Luke, who caught her and fell to the ground, an arm's breadth from the tip of the ledge. "Luke", was all she could say, "Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke..."

He lifted his head and kissed her. "Say yes", he said into her mouth, "Say you'll do it. Say you'll come meet me."

"Yes", Thalia replied without hesitation, "I'll do it, I'll guard your heart, every day of the ten years that you'll be gone."

Luke yelped with joy and kissed her again. "Thank you" he said, "I'm so sorry..."

"Shut up", Thalia murmured, and Luke laughed.

They got up, still in each other's arms. He kissed her nose. "You'll get the heart as soon as I kill Davy Jones. I can't come to meet you then. We'll see each other only ten years later now."

Thalia returned to gaping at Luke. "Davy Jones? You have to kill _Davy Jones_?"

Luke shrugged. "It's his ship. He sucks at captaining it, but it's his."

"Luke", Thalia said to him, "The guy's a legend."

Luke looked at Thalia and rolled his eyes. "I'll send you the chest when I kill him, Thalia", he said, ignoring her fear completely, "I just…" he paused, "Are you sure about this?"

"I don't know what I was thinking when I came here", Thalia said, "I couldn't possibly have gone on after this, Luke. After I finally saw you…this is my only way to survive. I would die, the pain of never seeing you again after all this would've killed me."

Luke leaned in to kiss her, hard. She sensed his urgency and knew he was leaving. "Keep a weather eye on the horizon, my Grace", he said, getting up, while Thalia's ledge started returning to Tartarus.

Thalia smiled through fresh tears and Luke turned away to leave. A thought struck her, and she got up and grasped his shirt. "Wait", she said, as he turned, "How did you know _I'd_ come?"

Luke smiled his sad smile. "I didn't".

"But then…" Thalia trailed off, and Luke ducked his head.

"Neptune made the offer the same day I killed myself. I refused then, but I'm going back to retract the refusal."

Thalia's breath caught in her chest. "You…"

"I couldn't leave without seeing you, Thalia. Even if it meant waiting for an eternity", he took her hand out of his and kissed it, beginning to dematerialize.

Luke disappeared like a ghost, and Thalia was left standing over Tartarus, sobbing uncontrollably.

Right. Ten years it is.


End file.
